Page 56 of Lessons with the Mothman

"A lady doesn't confess her age," Elias answered with a coy bat of his thick gold lashes. He was naked head to toe, standing in front of a whirring microwave, and a giggle burst out of me at the picture of him.

"Were both your parents moth fae?" I asked.

He nodded. "It was a wild hunt union. My mother was eager for a child, so she mated with every available male moth fae she could find over the festivities. And here I am," he said with a flourish, then swapped out the plates to heat, setting thesteaming one down at my side. "The forks are in the drawer under you."

I shifted, following his directions while my brain processed what he'd just told me. "Did you ever meet your father?"

"I met a few likely candidates over the years. Truth be told, considering it had long been common practice to swap fae children for human babies, my mother's attachment to me was devotion enough by our standards," Elias said with a wry smile. "She passed away before integration, but I think she would've been absolutely livid at the idea."

Considering monsters had been living with humans for a century already, that told me enough about Elias's age to go about eating my casserole in a daze.

"She wouldn't have approved of integration?" I asked.

"She might not have said she disapproved, but she certainly wouldn't have taken part," Elias murmured, his gaze growing distant and a furrow appearing between his brows. "I haven't thought of her in quite some time, you know. She'd be shocked to see me now, to see me in a place like Nightlight."

A place where all the species gathered together. In a city where he was the only one of his kind. I wondered how many moth fae were even left in the world. I opened my mouth to ask more questions about Elias's past, when he changed the subject.

"Did Rafe tell you about his supper club?"

I shook my head. "This food is really good."

"Casseroles aren't on the menu, but I agree. He has a flare for flavor," Elias said.

We ate in silence for a moment, Elias with his hip cocked against the counter, mindlessly shoveling food into his mouth. I realized I was witnessing him more at ease than I ever had before, almost as if I wasn't here to observe him.

"You're a lot more clearheaded than when I arrived," I said, wondering if he'd arranged for me to come at the end, when everything was winding down.

He smirked. "I'm compartmentalizing arousal. You needed a breather, and we both needed fuel to continue. But now I'm thinking about sex again and…" He gestured down to where his cock was starting to swell, then laughed as I blushed. "Eat up, Victoria. And then take off the robe and let me watch you stretch before we begin again."

I tried not to choke on the next bite.

CHAPTER 19

Elias

A whimper.A sigh. A weak roll of her hips, grinding us together. A soft sob in my ear and fingers digging into my back, only to release and soothe in halfhearted circles. Poor Victoria.

"Are you tired, darling?" I asked, my own voice raspy from the growls and purrs that had been nearly constant since she'd arrived at the house.

I combed my fingers through the tangled strands of fire spread over my white pillow, and Victoria's bleary eyes blinked up at me. I already knew the answer. It was well after three in the morning. My lover was wrung out with exhaustion, delirious with the arousal that my pheromones left her drowning in, and more openly frustrated with the edge she seemed to be riding.

"Don't stop, just finish and?—"

I bent, gently folding her lips between mine, tracing my tongue around the seam, teasing into her as I rocked against her, content to stay buried. A soft sound at the back of her throat made me purr, and her feet scrambled against the sheets before falling limp once more.

"Just fall asleep," I offered, pulling away to kiss the high peaks of her cheekbones, the bridge of her nose, a line across her forehead.

"But—"

"Sleep, and I'll enjoy your lovely little body while you rest," I whispered, brushing my mouth over hers.

Her core clenched around my length, and I resisted the urge to buck. She was nice and soaked, but she needed a break from all the friction and I wanted to linger.

Victoria hummed and softened beneath me, her arms sliding from my back down to splay open at her side. I balanced on one arm above her and reached for her hand, bringing her palm up and licking over it in a spiral. Her brow furrowed, lips parting on a silent moan, and I nudged her knees a little wider, making room for me to nest down on top of her.

"You'll keep going?" she asked, sleepy words slurring together.

I nodded, but she could barely keep her eyes open. "If you want me to." I kissed the center of her palm, then drew her index and middle finger into my mouth to suck, fighting my grin as she squirmed beneath me.

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